Method and means for printing floor coverings



July 20, 1943.

w. B. FREDERICK ET AL METHOD MEANS OF PRINTING FLOOR COVERINGS Filed Aug. 19, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS WA L TE R B. FR

EDER/CK THOMAS J. KELLY July 20, 1943.

W. B. FREDERICK ET AL METHOD AND MEANS-OF PRINTING FLOOR COVERINGS Filed Au 19, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS WALTER B. FREDER/CK TH MAS J. KELLYV I Fig.5.

A TTORNEY.

Patented July 20, 1943 UNITED STATES PATE NT OFFICE 1 METHOD AND MEANS FOR PRINTING FLOOR COVERINGS Walter B. Frederick, Oakford, and Thomas J.

Kelly, Philadelphia, Pa., assignors to Sloane- Blabon, Trenton, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application August 19, 1941 Serial No. 407,400

13 Claims.

Our invention relates to methods and means for printing designs in ,paint on a web of ma. teri-al in the manufacture of floor covering and p the like. Our invention is directed particularly to printing methods and meanswherein a printing block is employed and the block is shifted during .the printingoperation to spread orblend the paint or other design forming material applied to the surface of a :web of material.

It is usual in printing designs in paint on a web of linoleum or felt base material to employ printing blocks which are raised and lowered intermittently. When in their raised position paint is applied tot-he lower face of the printing blocks after which the blocks are lowered intocontact "with the upper surface of the web of material to print designson the web; *The web of material is then advanced while "the blo'ck are raised to "receive additional paint for application to another portion of the web. r

1 The printing face of the print blocks usually is provided with design elements which i are formedwith grooves or are cut at right angles to form pins which receive the paintand applyit'to the surface of the web. The paint is therefore applied in ridges or spots which do not blendtogether thoroughly giving an uneven appearance. Furthermore, in some instances the pins when raised from the paint-draw paint with thema nd when the web is "advancedthe paint thus raised strings out longitudinally of the web on'toadiacent areas producing-undesirable lines and imperfections in the design.

The-patent to 'Waldron No; 311,342 describes a printing block withmeohanism-formoving the i 5 printing block transversely of a web of material while in its lowered or printing position to-spread "the paint laterally and obliterate the lines in which the paint is deposited on the material v The patent to Wagner N0."2-,116,'455 des'cr ibes --a somewhat similar method and apparatus in which a mash block 'is shifted transversely of the web of material to blend the edges of the design elements or "the paint oi over-printed pattern ele- "ments to blend the paint subsequent totheprinting operation; v

'While the devices of'the Waldron and Wagner patents perform their intended -i functi'ons, the

movement "of the printingblock transversely of the web produces only alimited amount of blending or spreading of paint and such lo'lending or -spreadirig .is in one direction only. .Moreover, "thesell'constructions do not result in any spreading of the paint longitudinallymof nthe 'web so and the web advanced.

to dragging of the paint when the block i raised through a closed path. In this way the paint when applied over the paint of a base coat or design'element is efiectively blended therewith to produce delicate shading and improved marble effects. When 'themovableblocks print onadjacent areas soft design outlines are obtained and in some instances the paint is given a swirled-effect which is particularly attractive. Furthermore,by spreading or displacing the paint longitudinally of the web any dragging of the. paint which occurs, when the block is raised and the web is advanced will be'deposited in an area over which the paint has been spread by shifting of the block and the resulting lines of paint are obscured so that they are not observable and do not impair the design. i

So far as we are aware no one heretofore has moved a printing block or a mash block longitudinally of a web of material being printed to blend differently colored paint used in forming design elements.

'While" the printing block maybe moved as described by any suitable meansfor attaining the desired result we have devised a new type of block shifting mechanism which is simple in construction and easy to produce and install on existing block printing machines.

One of, the objects of our invention is to provide a new method for printing designs in paint.

on a web of material.

Another object of our invention is to provide novel mechanism for shifting a printing block ora mash block while the printing surface of theblock is in engagement with the paint applied to a web of material. i A further object of ourihvention is to coordinate the operation of the block raising and lowering mechanism and the block shifting 'me chanism to produce more effective blending and spreading of paint thanhas been possible heretofore. l

A particular object of 0-111 invention is to providea novel method and means whereby paint may be spread longitudinally of a web ofma as toconceal or-eliminatethosefimperfections due terial in a block printing machine.

objections to con These and other objects and features of our invention will appear from the following description thereof in which reference i made to the figures of the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 i a view in elevation of mechanism located at one end of a printing block actuated in accordance with our invention;

Fig. 2 is a view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

illustrating a portion of a conventional block printing machine having mechanism embodying our invention applied thereto;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective of certain elements embodied in the mechanism illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a portion of the construction shown in Fig. 3 taken on the line 4-4 thereof;

Fig. 5 is a perspective of one element embodied in the construction of Figs. 1 to 4; and

Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating preferred types of blending motion which may be given to a printing or mash block in accordance with our invention.

In the preferred form of our invention illustrated in the figures of the drawings the invention is applied to a'conventional block printing machine having a bed 2, over which a web of material 4 is passed longitudinally of the machine beneath a series of printing blocks 6 (only one of which is shown). Each of the printing blocks i raised and lowered by means of a lifting earn 8 which is engaged by a cam follower I carried by a vertically movable slide I2. The cam 8 is so formed and actuated that the printing block i moved to a raised position in which paint is applied to the lower face of the block and there after is lowered to a printing position in which the paint carried by the printing surface of the block is applied to the upper face of the web 4 of material being printed.

The printing block 6 is provided at its opposite ends with bearing members I4 (Figs. 3 and each of which has a pair of spaced downwardly extending lugs IB which are formed with elongated openings IB. A rotatable'actuating member 2%! is carried by the vertically movable slide I2 and mounted in bearings 22 thereon. However, the member 29 extends through the 'elongated openings I8 in the lugs I6 of the bearing member M. The block 5 and the bearing members may therefore move transverselyof the web and on the bed 2 and with respect to the slide I2 and the actuating member 20.

This transverse movement of the block is effected by shifting means 2I and 23 located at opposite ends of the block and each of which, as shown, includes an adjustable pin 24 arried by an arm 25 on a yoke 26. The opposite ends of the yoke are secured to the actuating member 20 for movement therewith.

The actuating member is rocked in its bearings 22 on the vertically movable slide I2 through an arc of about 90 degrees. This rocking movement is effected by means of an actuating rod 28 which is vertically movable by an operating cam 30 on the cam shaft 32 which carrie the block lifting cam 8. The lower end of the actuating rod 28 is provided with a cam follower 34 while the upper end of the rod is positioned to engage a projection 35 on the yoke 26. The operating rod is guided in its vertical movement by a guide member 38 on the frame of the machine and on an upward movement it serves to raise the projection 36 and rotate the yoke 28 and actuating member in a counter-clockwise direction, as seen in Fig. 3. Thereafter, when the high point of the operating cam 30 ha rotated past the follower 34 on the lower end of the actuating rod, the rod descends by gravity allowing the yoke 26 and actuating member to rotate in a clock-wise direction.

This rocking movement of the actuating member 20 and yoke 26 causes the adjustable pin 24 of the shifting means to be moved into and out of engagement with the bearin member I4 on the block ,6. The block is thus moved transversely of the machine, to the left as seen in Figs. 2 and 3 when the actuating rod 28 is raised and release the block for return movement when the rod is lowered. This much of the construction is generally similar to that shown and described in the above identified Wagner patent.

In order to shift the block longitudinall of the web a shifting nut 40 is located between the lugs I6 of each bearing member M and is provided with threads which engage threads 42 an the rotatable actuating member 20.- Rocking movement of the actuating member therefore causes the shifting nut 40 to be moved back and forth lengthwise of the actuating member and longitudinally of the web of material being printed. The opposite faces of the shifting nut 40 engage the adjacent faces of the lugs. I6 on the bearing member, causing the bearing memberand block 6 to'be moved back and forth lengthwise of the machine as the actuating member is rocked back and forthby the actuating rod 28.

With this construction the rotation'of the cam shaft 32 to actuate the lifting scam 8. and raise and lower the printingblock Ii; also serves to actuate the operating cam 30 in timed relation to the movement of the printing block. The position of the operating cam 30 with-respectto the lifting cams 8 is such. that the actuating rod 28 is raised to engage the projection .36" on the yoke 26 only when the block 6 is in its lowered or printing position. The yoke 26 then rotates the actuating member I4 to move the printing block longitudinally and transversely of "the web of material While the blockis in its lowered printing position and while the pins or ribs forming the design elementsare in engagement with the paint on the web of material 4.-

The printing block and the yoke 26 'may;be

returned to their initial positions by any suitable means. However, in order to cause both ends of the block to be simultaneously moved in the same manner and the yokes 26 positively shifted to their lowered position for engagement by the actuating rod, the block shifting means 2| adjacent the right hand endof the printing block, as shown in Fig. 2, is connected to the shifting means 23 adjacent the left hand end of the block by means 'of a rod 44 and links, 48

connected to the arms 48 on the actuating members 20 at opposite ends of each block. Furthermore, as shown, we prefer to provide. duplicate operating mechanism adjacent. the op 'posite ends of each printing block-and to locate the operating earns 30 and 30' on;theaopposite sides of the machine in displaced relation-whereby the printing block is positively moved longitudinally and transversely "of the Web, by." the mechanism 2| located adjacent one end-of-the printing block and is positively moved in ,the

:reverse' directions and backtoits initialfp'osi-- tion by the mechanism'23 located adjacent the opposite ends of the'prin'ting' block; 'j .i

1 With the construction" illustrated, upward 2,324,573 'mo'vement ofthe aetuatm rod -za adjacent ane end of theprintingblock serves to rotate' the {yoke 26 and 'actuating member" l4 adjacent that "end of theblock Whereas tl."ie links *46 and the rod M also serve 'to caus'e'the block shifting mechanismadjacent the opposite end ofthe' "30 on= the opposite side ofthe'machine raises I the actuatingrod-28jadjacent the opposite end of the printing block and actuates-thje shifting means 23'adjacent theleftharid end of the block 'rn yoke 26 then rocks the actuating merriber fll ahdthe adjustableshifting pin 24' "adjacent the lefthand end of theblock to shift 1 the block back in opposite directions to' its initial position I preparatory to the next printing operation. i l 3 l The amount of movement of the printing block (o'r -mash block) actuated in accordance with bur inventi on may be varied considerably and the displacement of the block in either'dire ction, that is, longitudinally ortransversely of the'web of material maybe varied to obtain the desired eifect i n blending or spreading the paint on the surface ofthe webw Furthermore, the adjustments 'may be'so ontrolled that' the movement longitudinally 'of :th e'web may greatly exceed the movement ofthefblock transversely of the web,"- or conversely theblock may be shifted a greater distance j tr ansversely than ilongitudinally of the web. i a

- By adjustment of 1 theshifting pins 24 with respectto the yoke 26 of the shifting means 2| and 23] the manner in'which the blockis moved may also becontrolled. Thus if the "shi'fterpin 24 is adjusted to engage the block 6 at the start ofthe upward movement of the yoks 26} the lateral shifting of the block and the longitu -dlnal shifting will take place simultaneously and theblockjwill move diagonally through a path somewhat as' indicated by the arrow 50 inE-ig. 6. on'the other handifthe shifter pins are Withdrawn so thattheyfdo not engage the block until near the end of the rocking movement of the yokes 26 the block will move somewhatas --indicated by the arrow 52in Fig, 6, The ad justmentspf the 'pins'flma'y also be' such that they are retracted so that they do not engage the blocks at an, in'which case; the blocks will able in some designs, is generally more pronounced in those instances wherein the background design is first smoothed bya mash block,

many cases our invention is. not limited thereto and it should :be understood: that the construc- "ti'ons shown in the drawings, and herein particu- Iarly .describediare intended to be illustrativemf typ cal embodiments of our invention andaregnot In a preferred method of utilizing our invention theprinting blocks are used to simultaneously print and blend paint in overprinting operations. The overprinted paint is then directly carried downthroughthe layer of paint first applied to'the web and is distributed both vertically and horizontally so that wear does not detract from' the beauty of the design. Moreover, the fresh paintdoes not have an opportunity to" spread or to set before being displaced and blended into the background coat by the print block. The distribution and blending of the paint is therefore controlledmore accurately by l the print block than is possible by the mash block and very delicate designs and shading of colors are obtained. 1 l

We have also found it of advantage in some cases to print a base or primary design on the web and to use a mash block for smoothing the colors of the primary design before overprinting additional design elements. Thereafter paint may be appliedin overprint designs to the smooth but still wet paint of the primary design and the printing block by which the overprinted paintis applied may ibe'shifted as it prints to blend the overprinted paint into the background while leaving the intervening areas smooth and uniformly printed. The use of a mash blockon the paint of theprimary or basedesign also appear to improve the blending of the overprinted paint by presenting a uniform thickness of paint for receiving the overprint. The shifting ofnthe printing block then produces uniform blending of the overprinted paint and serves to smooth it into the primary design without disturbing those areas which are not overprinted. The

swirled effect of the-overprint, which is desirparticularly when the movement of the block is "ofJtheangular or arcuate type represented by, the

arrow 52 in Fig. 5.

While the method described is preferred in intended to limit the scope thereof.

Weclaimz H I 1. The method of printing designs in paint on a webof backing material by means ofablock be moved back and for'th longitudinally of the webwithout any transverse movement whatever, as shown by the arrow 54 of Fig. 6,

Similarly, the amount of longitudinal movement may be varied as desired by using alternative actuating members with threads 42 thereon of difierent pitch or by adjusting the length of the actuating rod 28 to vary the are through which the yoke 26 and actuating member 20 are rocked on each rotation of the operating cam 30.

These and other changes in the construction and operation of the various elements of the combination may be made without departing from our invention. Similarly, the invention may be used in various ways for actuating printing blocks to print and blend the paint, or for actuating mash blocks to blend paint previously applied to a web of material.

comprises the steps of printing a background deprinting machine, which comprises the steps;of

applying paint to one block of the machine and 1 printing on said web with said block; thereafter applying differently/colored paint to a second block ofthe machine,printingi with paint from said second block on the area printed by the first block while the first paint is still wet, and moving the second printing block in a plane parallel to the web and. while engaging the paint thereon whereby the paint from the second block is blended into the paint from the is applied to the web.

2. A method of printing floor coverings which first block as it 3. A method of printing floor coverings on a block printing machine which comprises the steps of printing with certain blocks of said machine onto a web of material, moving a mash block into engagement with the paint so printed to smooth said paint, thereafter printing with other blocks of said machine upon the smoothed paint applied by the first blocks while said paint is still wet, and shifting the latter blocks longitudinally of the web while in engagement with said paint.

4. In a block printing machine, a printing block, means for moving a web of material step by step longitudinally of the machine beneath said printing block, means for moving said block into position to apply paint to the surface of said material while said material is at rest,,and means for moving said block longitudinally of the machine while in said printing position. 5. In a block printing machine, a printing block, means for moving said block into and out of printing position, 'means for intermittently moving a web of material longitudinally of the machine between successive printing operations, and means for moving the block longitudinally of the machine during a printing operation.

6. In a block printing machine, a printing block, means for moving said block into and out of printing position, means for intermittently "moving a web of material longitudinally of the machine between successive printing operations, and means for moving the block longitudinally and transversely of the machine during a printing operation.

'7. In a block printing machine having a printing block, means for raising and lowering said block, means for moving said block in one direction in a plane parallel to the surface of material to be printed, means for moving said block in another direction in said plane and means coordinating the operation of said means to cause said block to move through a closed path in said plane and while in its lowered position.

8. In a block printing machine of the type used in printing designs in paint on linoleum or felt base material for producing floor coverings and the like, a printing block, mechanism for moving said block from a raised position in which paint is applied thereto to a lowered position in which the block will apply paint to the surface of the material to be printed, means for moving said block in two directions in a plane parallel to said surface and elements coordinating the operation of said means and said mechanism to cause said means to be actuated only when said block is in said lowered position,

9. In a block printing machine having a print ing block and means for raising and lowering said block, the combination of means for moving said block in a plane-parallel to thesurface ,of

the material being printed comprising a threaded member and actuating means operable in timed relation to saidblock raising and lowering means to rotate said threaded member and shift said block while the block is in its lowered position.

-10. In combination with a block of .a block printing machine, means for moving said block' longitudinally of the machine comprising a vertically movable slide for raising and lowering said block, an actuating membercarried by said slide and having threads thereon, means for rocking said member about a horizontal axis and means movable with said blocli and'engaging the threads I on said member to shift the block relative; to said slide when said member is rocked.

11. The method of printing floor covering and the like by means of a block printing machine which comprises the steps'ofapplying paint. to

the faceof a web of backing material andwhile said paint is still wet, applying differently colored paint to a printing bloclgmoving said block and the paint carried thereby into position to contact the paint first applied to the web of backing material and shifting said printing block both longitudinally and transversely of the web while in said position to blend the paint carried :by

said block with that first applied to=the web'of backing material. r 1' 12; The method. of printing designs in paint on a web of backing material by meansof'a block printing machine,- which comprises the steps of applying'paint-to the-upper face of the web, applying additional paint to a printing block,

moving said block into position to deposit paint in the-form of a design over that already apby said block.

13. The method of printing floor covering and the like by means ofa block printing machine,

which comprises the steps of applying paint to the faceof a web of backing material, applying additional paint to a printing block, -moving said block and the paint carried thereby into position to engage the'paint on said web and imparting a stirring movement to said block to blend said additional paint with that first applied to said web while said paint is still wetg WAL'I'ER' QB. FREDERICK THOMAS J. KELLY; 

